Aircraft instrument panels are largely composed of instruments dedicated to a single purpose, such as displaying a single piece of information or receiving a specific type of control input from a user. These instruments typically include gauges, dials, buttons, switches, text or graphic display monitors, and other similar components. As a result of their single purpose and physical arrangement, the instrument panel has limited flexibility and customizability. The instruments are in fixed locations and are limited in what information they can display or input they can receive from the user.
Also, since typically an aircraft must provide functionality for both a pilot and a co-pilot, the instrument panel includes duplicate instruments to provide for two users. This reduces the effective area of the instrument panel available for the display of information.
A flexible, customizable instrument panel, utilizing touch screen technology and providing a user friendly, intuitive interface for receiving information and controlling the aircraft are described. A user interface that provides a synoptic, summary overview of the aircraft configuration and operation is also described.